DPS rescues Boy Scout leader after heart attack

A Boy Scout group leader suffered a heart attack while hiking with a troop in southern Arizona, the Arizona Department of Public Safety says.

The Cochise County Sheriff's Department requested assistance from the DPS Southern Air Rescue Unit after a Boy Scout group reported it was in distress after their leader suffered a heart attack at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the DPS said in a statement issued Monday.

Troop 401 had been hiking near Montezuma Pass Crest Trail, about 13 miles south of Sierra Vista in the Coronado National Forest.

Winds were strong, making it difficult for the helicopter to land. Ranger 54, one of the Southern Air Rescue helicopters, located the group. but winds forced the copter to abort the rescue. The U.S. Air Force and the Border Patrol, which had also been asked to assist, were also unable to land their helicopters in the area.

Ranger 54 was finally able to land approximately 1.2 miles from the Scout leader, who was then carried to the helicopter, the DPS says. With help from the Fry Fire Department, he was flown to the Sierra Vista Airport, where he was transferred to another aircraft and taken to an undisclosed hospital, the Sheriff's Department said.

The Scout leader's condition was not immediately available Monday afternoon.